OFFICIAL: The Refereeing Committee Issues an Urgent Statement on Atletico's 4-0 Victory over Barca

The Refereeing Committee has officially addressed the unusual incident that caused VAR to take 8 minutes to disallow Pau Cubarsi's goal in the Copa del Rey semifinal.

The Copa del Rey semifinal match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona shocked not only due to the 4-0 scoreline favoring Diego Simeone's team but also left a significant controversy concerning refereeing. The focal point of debate was the goal scored by Barcelona’s young talent Pau Cubarsi. Although the goal was hoped to spark a comeback, after a tiring 8-minute wait, VAR decided to annul it for offside.

Facing heavy criticism for the lengthy interruption, the Refereeing Technical Committee (CTA) issued an official explanation. According to them, the Semi-Automatic Offside Technology (SAOT) system—known for its speed and accuracy—unexpectedly "failed" due to an overly complex situation.

CTA explained that: “During the analysis of the disallowed goal situation for FC Barcelona, the VAR team discovered that the SAOT system malfunctioned in simulating players via skeletal tracking”.

The cause was identified as "an excessive concentration of players inside the penalty area", which prevented the software from accurately distinguishing individual body parts to reconstruct a 3D model.

This technical issue put the VAR referees in a difficult position. After unsuccessful attempts to recalibrate the equipment, they had to resort to a manual backup method. The CTA statement clarified: “The VAR team manually drew the offside lines to reach a final and accurate decision. For this reason, and as an exceptional case, the review process took longer than usual”.

Because the process was entirely manual, the system could not produce the usual offside simulation video for broadcast.

This explanation from the Refereeing Committee seems insufficient to calm Barcelona’s anger. Coach Hansi Flick’s team believes that the 8-minute delay not only cost them a goal but also completely destroyed the players’ motivation and momentum on the field.

In Spain, the media is calling this a "technological mess," as an expensive system failed at the most crucial moment of the match.